Three pre-print papers published over the past few days have strengthened the case for the theory that SARS-COV2 first spread among people via infected animals sold and slaughtered at the Huanan wildlife market in Wuhan – rather than from the Wuhan Institute of Virology, the laboratory studying coronaviruses in bats. The two theories have been […] Continue reading ->
Nearly half the world’s population lives in climate danger zones, according to the latest United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report, which UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres described as “an atlas of human suffering and a damning indictment on failed climate change leadership”. “Many ecosystems are at the point of no return now, and […] Continue reading ->
From increasing disease surveillance and developing a pan-coronavirus vaccine to ‘eco-health’ and public trust, participants in the COVID-19 Global Research and Innovation Forum considered ways to globally prepare for future pandemics and end the current one. The third such forum, hosted by the World Health Organization, brought together over 100 research scientists, experts, policy makers, […] Continue reading ->
Some thirteen African nations have expressed interest in hosting the new African Medicines Agency, with an AU decision on where to establish the AMA’s headquarters set for July 2022, senior African Union officials say. A decision on a headquarters would also pave the way for the recruitment of a director general for the new AMA […] Continue reading ->
The past 10 days have seen a flurry of new US initiatives to meet the World Health Organizations target of vaccinating 70% of the global population – including a new Global Action Plan; involvement of PEPFAR networks to strengthen health system response; and most recently, a special US thrust in Nigeria, the continent’s most populous nation. […] Continue reading ->
The World Health Organization said it had released $3.5 million to support delivery of urgent medical supplies to the people of Ukraine, after Russia invaded the country on three fronts simultaneously early Thursday morning. Meanwhile, WHO’s European Regional Office called for an end to hostilities saying: “any further escalation could result in a humanitarian catastrophe […] Continue reading ->
Somewhere between 10 and 14 million people are living with viral hepatitis B (HBV) or hepatitis C (HCV) in WHO’s European region alone. And over three quarters of those people do not even know they have either disease. It’s no surprise then, that approximately 300 people die each day due to HBV and HCV -related […] Continue reading ->
Within one year, Africa has gone from waiting for its first COVID-19 vaccine shipment from the WHO-supported global COVAX facility to having excess doses available that some countries are struggling roll out efficiently. Reflections on the first anniversary of the massive COVAX vaccine rollout. On 24 February 2021, Health Policy Watch reported the global COVAX […] Continue reading ->
The United States will support Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in a second term as head of the World Health Organization – a move that is largely symbolic insofar as Tedros is running unopposed in the elections, scheduled for the 75th World Health Assembly, 22-28 May. Although over a dozen countries in Europe and elsewhere lined […] Continue reading ->
The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria is seeking $18-billion for its next three-year funding cycle – a $4billion increase over the previous period – in part to offset the impact of COVID-19. “In the face of the catastrophic impact of COVID-19 on the fight against HIV, TB and malaria, the choice is […] Continue reading ->